The Evils of Mistletoe
by HighOnCookies
Summary: When the trio arrives in Striaton City for the holidays, they learn that the gym is going to host the annual Gym Leader party. In helping to decorate, the evil of a tradition makes itself known...


**A Secret Santa gift for Jesspikapal, from the Wishfulshipping thread on Serebii. Unfortunately, she asked for a picture, and I can't draw to save my life. So, I overcompensated with extra amounts of Chili. XD ****And I hope everyone doesn't mind me using her character at the end.**

**I was going to put this up yesterday, but I spent the day at my grandparents' house and couldn't. So, it may seem a bit rushed(and unedited) but I like most of it.**

**Oh, and credit for part of this goes to the thread and one of its topics. Or, rather, the majority of answers to that topic...**

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><p>A picture sits in a family scrapbook, memories of a very strange Christmas party. A pale, green-haired boy is in the front, holding the hand of a pretty girl with purple hair and dark skin, a Pansage on his shoulder and an Axew on hers. A red-haired boy stands just behind his brother, carrying a Pansear and looking very proud of himself, while the third brother and his Panpour are just there. Looking closely, you will see another boy and his Pikachu, both trying very hard to not be in the family photo but just waiting for the moment when it would be safe to ask for food.<p>

Looking at this picture, you would think that it was a perfect, happy family. Let me tell you exactly how wrong that was...

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><p>Cilan was nervous. Scratch that, he was terrified.<p>

No sooner had he opened the door to lead his friends into the Striaton Gym than he was ambushed by a streak of red hair. "Cilan!" Chili called, trying to warn his brother as he ran, carrying a thing of plastic plants. Cilan looked too late, and Chili knocked him aside with a call of, "We need your help to finish with the decorations!"

"Decorations?" the winded teen repeated, getting to his feet. "Are you having some kind of party?"

"That's a stupid question," Chili huffed, settling down just enough to explain to his brother. "I nominated our Gym to be the location of the Gym Leader Christmas party!"

So that was what all the excitement was about. "And what, exactly, needs to be done for this Christmas party?"

Iris shook her head and stepped out of Pansear's path. "From what Pansear's carrying, I suppose mistletoe is going to be involved?"

"Sure is," the redheaded triplet said, dumping half his load onto Ash. "Mistletoe makes things much more fun."

"Why? It's just a tool to demand kisses from unsuspecting victims."

"Say what you will, Iris," Cilan said with a smile. "There's not much that can stop Chili once he starts."

And he vanished into the kitchen to make lunch for his family and friends, calling Iris to come with him while Ash was dragged into helping Cress and Chili with the decorations.

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><p>Iris was staring at it.<p>

She'd been staring at it for a good five minutes, and it was a wonder that none of the brothers had noticed. The mistletoe had been thrown carelessly into a corner, and she was taking it as her personal mission to make sure Chili didn't get his hands on it until the big Gym Leader party. Who knew what that kid could get into.

_Then again..._

Taking her eyes off the plant for just a few seconds, she directed her gaze to Cilan, who had, in trying to help Ash, managed to get not only himself tied to the trainer by a string of blinking lights, but Pikachu, Pansage, and Axew as well. At least they were trying to help the Pokemon out first. Axew was freaking out and clinging to the green-haired trainer, and Iris was just about to go and help when she sensed someone behind her.

"Iris, why aren't you helping your friends out of their mess?"

She flinched. Maybe she'd been a bit too busy watching them struggle. Turning back to the mistletoe, it took her only half a second to realize Chili was holding it. Crap.

"I will," she announced, holding out her hand for the mistletoe. "He's your brother, why aren't you helping him?"

He waved the mistletoe in her face. "Because I noticed this poor baby all alone in a corner."

Iris felt her eye twitch, but spun around to help Cress untangle them, only mildly disappointed when she didn't whack Chili with her hair. He smirked.

He'd just gotten the best idea of his life.

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><p>"Cilan."<p>

"Yes?"

"You and Iris seem awfully close, don't you think?"

Cilan quickly turned away from his red-haired brother, a failed attempt to hide his blush. "We've been traveling together for some time," he explained, knowing all along it would be falling on deaf ears. "We're friends."

Chili raised an eyebrow. "You know that's not what I meant."

"I know." Cilan refused to continue, though, and instead attempted to hang an ornament from the back of a chair. "Does this look all right to you?"

"It looks like you were desperate for a distraction." Chili snatched the decoration off the chair, holding it up to the light. "This goes on the ceiling, by the way."

"Really?" Cilan tilted his head to look at it. "It looks a bit too small to be hung from the ceiling..."

He was actually relieved to talk about the decorations. Cress, on the other hand, shook his head.

"A bit too forward, Chili," he told the redhead, before stalking off, the much-discussed ornament in hand, to do who-knows-what, his Panpour following with an armload of green stuff that neither of the boy's brothers could identify.

Chili stared after him for a moment, then turned to Cilan with a smirk. "And you think _Purrloin _are scary."

"Oh, just shut up and help me decorate."

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><p>"You know, for a last-minute thing, I think we did pretty well."<p>

All three brothers agreed with Iris's words. Even the outside of the Gym was decorated, only missing the snow - it still hadn't snowed despite Christmas being just a few days away. Not that Iris minded that.

"So, when is this party?" Ash asked, turning to the two who had known about it in advance.

"Christmas eve, of course," Chili said, rolling his eyes as though it should have been obvious. "Come on, let's go inside. It's _cold_ out here."

Iris didn't need to be told twice, and dragged Cilan in behind her. "Your brothers are weird," she said, so quietly he barely heard her. "Chili even threatened me with a cookie cutter."

"He threatened you?" Never mind that he was sure Chili wouldn't have followed through with that threat. He should never have threatened a lady, especially his possible future sister-in-law...

Cilan mentally slapped himself.

"Well, I might have started it," Iris admitted. "I hit him in the head with a plastic icicle. It wasn't that hard, I don't know what he was so upset about."

Cilan pretended to hang his head in shame, but he was fighting the urge to laugh until he choked on his own spit. "I'm glad you and Ash seem to be enjoying yourselves here. I wouldn't have brought you if I'd known about the party."

"Come on, Cilan!" Iris laughed. "Who wouldn't love the opportunity to crash a Gym Leader party?"

The conversation was disrupted by a very confused and very hungry Ash Ketchum. "Hey, what are you guys doing under the mistletoe?"

The startled couple looked up, and sure enough, the instrument of torture for so many generations was hanging right there, in an area that _everyone _would walk past at one point. Of course.

"We're talking, Ash," Iris huffed. "Go bug Cress, see if he'll feed you."

"Most people don't just talk under the mistletoe," the boy challenged, but quickly left when Iris threatened to make him watch whatever happened next.

"Gosh, what a kid." Turning to Cilan, who was wondering how Chili had managed to hang the mistletoe by fishing wire, and gave him a flirty smile. "So, what do you want to do? Honor tradition, or kill your brother?"

He answered with a boldness even he didn't expect, and a flirty smile of his own. "Can't we do both?" he teased, leaning down so close she could smell his minty breath.

"One at a time, Cilan," Iris scolded, before she grabbed him by the shirt and yanked his face down to hers. The kiss was even better than expected, but it was also, unfortunately, very short, disrupted by the arrival of Chili's friend Ruby.

"You could've helped us decorate, you know," Chili was saying, and the couple broke apart to make sure he didn't catch them at it. Cilan laughed at Iris's expression - she'd obviously wanted to keep going.

"Could've," Ruby replied, "but I was too lazy." She dug a camera out of the pocket of her coat. "Come on, group shot. I've got film to waste."

Axew popped his head out of Iris's hair, and Pansage climbed up onto Cilan's shoulder, dragging Pansear and Panpour into the picture as well as their trainers. Iris tried to sneak out, but Cilan grabbed her hand to keep her in the shot, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

_What a pain,_ Iris thought, but she didn't protest. He was her pain, after all. Axew scampered over her shoulder so he could be in the shot, and Ash and Pikachu made a dash for it.

_Click._


End file.
